Looking to get to Afan next month and notice the the Penhydd is back open, a trail I really loved.

What’s the ‘new’ Penhydd like compared to the old. How much has changed?

Some bits are still there, like dead sheep gully, although it’s been deforested.

The rest is flowy and new school…

It’s a decent enough hour.

How much has changed?

About 80% I reckon. The best bits are gone. All very tame and smooth now (except the very last bit which is actually rather good).

Worst trail in Afan imo.

I like it. Nice little warm up before heading out to something longer. Much better than Blue Scar imo, which has a really sketchy surface.

wrecker – Member

How much has changed?

About 80% I reckon. The best bits are gone. All very tame and smooth now (except the very last bit which is actually rather good).

see i never rode the old, but I like it especially sidewinder and deadsheep gully. I like the last bit least, I always find big bermy sections a bit like you are just on a rollercoaster holding on for the ride.

Agree better than B.S. For a warm up I quite often ride up to the blue scar turn off but rather than continue all the way to the top of penhydd, i cut across to sidewinder.

Sidewinder and Deadsheep Gully are ace.

Penhydd and Blue Scar is the perfect length for me to pop around on my way home from work on a Friday evening for a weekend warm up.

It’s got a very different feel to the old one – the start out of the car park is much longer and steeper, but very well surfaced or terrible horrible man made crap – depending on your point of view – there a new section called Jim Crow (named after the charming Welsh Nursery Rhyme and not the system of racial segregation in the Southern US) which is so new school it’s Nu Skool, but it’s pretty fun and you can do big jumps if you want.

Then it’s into the same old long fire road climb as before – the short little section called Desolation is still there – the bit that used to go down the hill on a wide bit of trail between the tree and back up to almost the exact point on the fire road is gone – Hidden Valley which used to be tight, twisty and wet through trees is long gone – same bit of the hill is now called Big Dipper, the very start is a bit like the old one, but not much, the rest is more woops and berms but very rocky and fun.

Sidewinder is pretty much as it used to be, as it Dead Sheep Gully but it’s now longer, thankfully the little stone (postman pat) bridges/jumps are still there, but there’s a nice bombhole with a tight entry and option for a pretty big jump out of if you want.

The bit that’s like a short trials section is still there, but then it’s a completely new final descent – quite techie with some drops that are much smaller than they look when you first ride them.

After that you can either go down the hill (fireroad again) and into a short section of big berms, or go up the fireroad and have a lap of Bluescar – it’s very easy, I ride it with my 9 year old – but you can throw a lot of speed into it to make it a challenge – momentum is the key, if you can hold your nerve through the bends and compressions it flows beautifully and it’s nice fast descent with some cool features – but if you brake too much you have to pedal quite a bit and it becomes a bit of a slog – don’t listen to people who moan about the surface, it was loose for the first couple of weeks it opened but it’s absolutely fine now if you stay off the incredibly obvious piles of loose stones – it’s no where near as loose as Airwave on Cwmcarn for example.

If you’re into Strava there’s a fun section for Bluescar called Blue Scar time Trial – is almost the whole trail from the car park but doesn’t include the last bit back as it’s mutli-use and multi-directional so not really socially responsible to STRAVAVAVA! I’ve done 32:01 which isn’t IMO for a nearly middle aged bloke on a 6″ trail bike.

I like the last bit least, I always find big bermy sections a bit like you are just on a rollercoaster holding on for the ride.

? The last bit is the rockiest bit. A few step downs etc. I’m not a fan of smooth “new school” stuff. WRT the old trail; Hidden valley was one of the best sections at afan. The last bit through the woods was great too. Oh and the penhydd descent into the stream was good. All gone now 🙁
Even sidewinder isn’t as good as I remember it being.

I’ve done 43:35, which isn’t bad for a unicycle 8)

wrecker – Member

I like the last bit least, I always find big bermy sections a bit like you are just on a rollercoaster holding on for the ride.

? The last bit is the rockiest bit. A few step downs etc. I’m not a fan of smooth “new school” stuff

is it? shows how little I remember when I’m riding, I rode it twice one night earlier this week and already I’m forgetting the section order 😳

keep meaning to do the blue scar time trial, last time i rode it was before xmas when i was just recovering from IT band issues and I still got my PB so want to see how I get on fit

Sidewinder and Deadsheep Gully

were the best bits of the original. Penhydd was my first trail centre trail ride back in the era of bone shakers and penny farthings.

The last bit – it actually very smooth with big berms it’s the ‘last but one’ bit that’s got the rocks and drops – but it’s an easy mistake to make as the trail seems to come to it’s conclusion after that bit – it rejoins with Blue Scar and goes all ‘walking path’ the last bit it sort of tacked on the end.

The last bit – it actually very smooth with big berms it’s the ‘last but one’ bit that’s got the rocks and drops

Ah. My mistake. Apologies ferrals.

Dead Sheep Gulley is odd without the forest around it, but still fun. Sidewinder was great. Always loved it in both old and new. As for the rest, just pretty boring and too man made ,in a way. We were really looking forward to it and wont probably go back again, which is a shame.